WorldPerfect: The Jewish Impact on Civilization Paperback by Ken Spiro (Simcha Press an imprint of Kehot Publication Society)

Although modern Western society inherited most of its culture from the Greco-Roman civilization, the same cannot be said about its values, ethics and principles. In this book Spiro explores the Jewish contribution to Western civilization with regard to Respect for human life, Peace and harmony, Justice and equality, Education, Family and Social responsibility. This is done by investigating the four millennia of the economic and political evolution of the West.

In part one, the author acknowledges the debt we owe to Greece and Rome in the fields of art, philosophy, science, law and government. Then he shows the ugly underside of those civilizations, which involved widespread infanticide, murder as entertainment, inequality, misogyny, contempt for the poor, illiteracy amongst the masses and the glorification of war. Even Aristotle (in his Politics) and Seneca (in Controversiae) condoned and justified infanticide.

In part two Spiro presents the Jewish view of the above. The Torah teaches the value of the individual, the sanctity of life, justice for all, decent treatment of slaves, emphasis on charity and social responsibility. Judaism also encouraged literacy and throughout the Old Testament a longing for peace is expressed.

The next chapter addresses the question of how these Jewish ideas came to exert such a powerful influence, since Israel was a tiny nation and not an empire like Greece or Rome. The author discusses Abraham and the Law that is based on an absolute standard, not on human reason alone. The exodus, the Babylonian exile, the Persian period and Hellenism are also covered here. The clash of Greco-Roman values with Judaism is discussed in detail. This ultimately led to the destruction of the temple and the Diaspora.

Part four investigates the triumph of monotheism in the form of Christianity and Islam. The renaissance eventually weakened the stranglehold of the church and led to the Protestant Reformation. From the 16th century the Bible became accessible to the population at large and started to serve as blueprint for society and government.

The last part deals with the impact of Judaism on modern democracies. It contains much information on the Puritans in England and in America and their role in implementing the social and ethical principles of Judaism. In this way the Jewish vision has become a universal vision. This informative and thought provoking text concludes with a quote from the book of Isaiah.

There are 34 pages of notes, a bibliography of 12 pages and a thorough index. I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in history, culture and religion. What we in the West take for granted, originated from ancient Israel via a tortuous path of blood and tears. In this way, the Jewish people have already been a blessing to the world according to God's will. Let us pray that they will become an even greater blessing in the future.